I lived aboard for many years and never felt any negative vibes. To the contrary I was thanked by harbormasters when I did things like subdue a furling headsail that came loose in a blow. The last American marina I lived aboard in was Marina Village in Alameda, California. The harbormaster at the time was Allan Weaver and he always had a friendly word and a smile when I saw him. If anyone is feeling hated by marina management, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is my boat generally clean and presentable, or more of an eyesore?
2. Do I have crap strewn all over my boat or on the docks?
3. Is my boat usable?
4. Do I make use of the pumpout facilities or engage a service to pump out my holding tank?
5. Do I pay my slip rent on time?
6. Am I a quiet and considerate neighbor?

There is always an eyesore on every dock. If you look around and all the other boats seem tidier than yours. Then your boat it the eyesore and you need to whip it into shape...

Change that from "boat" to "home" and it goes for neighborhoods as well. The problem is, many people feel that if they pay for it the can do whatever they please with it. Nobody has a right to tell them how to maintain their boat (or home).

Marina owners can be a pain in the ass, Smart marinas have started charging an extra liveaboard fee to cover the extra Garbage, Power, and Water Use, Showers are pay for a every dock here so they make Money off them, its 6 bucks for a 11 minute shower here with crappy water pressure and takes a minute for the hot water to come on at Van isle Marina which is Easily the Most expensive up to date marina in the Vancouver island BC / Lower mainland Area. I maintain my Cascade 36 Pretty Well, and liveaboard full time. Instead of paying 500 plus a month I dropped my own 2000 pound Mooring and rented a dinghy spot for 50 bucks. Problem solved.

Marina owners can be a pain in the ass, Smart marinas have started charging an extra liveaboard fee to cover the extra Garbage, Power, and Water Use, Showers are pay for a every dock here so they make Money off them, its 6 bucks for a 11 minute shower .

Yikes
That's a pricey shower. I used to pay a couple bucks in quarters over in Seattle marinas. I think you're mooring is a great solution.

Hello all, I live at a marina in Charleston S.C.. Its located up the Ashley river and has " Dolphin" in its name. The place is a complete and total dump! No customer service and they are raising rates. We have the same problem with people living on mostly small sailboats who don't know and do not want to know anything about what they are living on...and yes they are total pigs! There is no screening here and people just waned in and start living there..yes I have complained but for some reason " management" and I say that extremely loosely ends up letting them stay. Mostly young kids who end up getting drunk all the time. The docks are a complete nightmare.. Cleats constantly ripping out of the dock...the docks coming apart because the idiots are to cheap to use screws instead of nails! And yes I am leaving...and never coming back. If at all avoid this dive if you possibly can. Not worth your time or money!

We were recently interviewing marina's in the Florida panhandle. One of the marina's that we really LOVED had a "no live aboard" rule. So, I probed them..

Me...."what if we were here.. A LOT?"
Marina rep.. "oh.. we love it when people are here a lot"..
Me... "well.. what if we were here so often that it would almost seem like we were ALWAYS here?"
Marina rep.. "we've never kicked out a slip holder for being here too often".

So, what we plan on doing.. is getting a slip.. living aboard. Keeping our boat in pristine shape (as we do with all of our possessions)... Not telling anyone we are living aboard... If they ask... we just really like to spend a lot of time here... If they push it, we will just show them proof of permanent residency on land.. (my folks home will be our permanent residence)..

So.. this is our plan... not sure what will happen if someone presses the issue... Anyone do something similar?

It's interesting the difference in attitudes from marina to marina. In Annapolis, one of the most expensive marinas in town, with around 200 slips, has about 60 liveaboards. They even encourage it, but the place is neat as a pin and there is a community ethic about what's Ok and what's not.

Other marinas in town adamantly refuse liveaboards.

I think the reasons vary depending on the local, the facilities, and the clientele. For some marinas it's a financial decision, for some it's a maintenance/cleanliness issue, and for others it's a cultural issue.

There's a marina in Deale that has a number of liveaboards, on boats that I doubt could even leave the slip without being towed. There is a sign there "No Liveaboards on Boats on the Hard". For most marinas that would be a liability/sanitation issue. For this one I think it's to prevent owners of boats that are about to sink just having them hauled and continuing to call them home.

This thread has been an amazing journey. I know of a couple places (as in TWO) that will allow live-aboards (and until I am secured in one of them, I am not telling where!), and costs are high in both, considering the facilities available (well, one is not too bad, the other is high).

I am definitely going to get a better dingy too, because I know that if I have to keep using my mooring after my refit is complete, the currenttender is not going to be a good solution, it just does have enough freeboard for my safety comfort. I will be happy when I am able to get into a decent location with good facilities and a reasonable cost. Wow!

I intend to be sailing more than 3 days a week on average, with week long trips several times each season, but I will also likely be living on board a bit as well, while perhaps not full time until I get a larger sailboat. Still, the picture this thread presents is a rather bleak one!

Some marinas do not consider you a live aboard as long as you have another address. San Diego for example has reverse snowbirds that come from AZ and stay on boat for months. They do not consider them live aboard. I asked marina, how long is too long? They said as long as you have another address, not considered live aboard.